Part of speech: nounred, green, etc.
1 [C,U] the appearance that things have that results from the way in which they reflect light. Red, orange and green are colours:
What's your favourite colour? * bright / dark / light colours * available in 12 different colours * the colour of the sky * Her hair is a reddish-brown colour. * to add / give / lend colour to sth (= make it more colourful) * Foods which go through a factory process lose much of their colour, flavour and texture. * The garden was a mass of colour.
2 [U] (usually before another noun) the use of all the colours, not only black and white:
a colour TV in every room * colour photography / printing * a full-colour brochure * Do you dream in colour?
of face
3 [U] a red or pink colour in sb's face, especially when it shows that they look healthy or that they are embarrassed:
The fresh air brought colour to their cheeks. * Colour flooded her face when she thought of what had happened. * His face was drained of colour (= he looked pale and ill).
of skin
4 [U,C] the colour of a person's skin, when it shows the race they belong to:
discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or religion * (especially AmE) a person / man / woman of colour (= who is not white)
substance
5 [C,U] a substance that is used to give colour to sth:
a semi-permanent hair colour that lasts six to eight washes
seealsoWATERCOLOUR
interesting details
6 [U] interesting and exciting details or qualities:
The old town is full of colour, character and attractions. * Her acting added warmth and colour to the production.
seealsoLOCALCOLOUR
of team / country, etc.
7 (colours) [pl.] the particular colours that are used on clothes, flags, etc. to represent a team, school, political party or country:
Red and white are the team colours. * Spain's national colours * (figurative) There are people of different political colours on the committee.
8 (colours) [pl.] (especially BrE) a flag, BADGE, etc. that represents a team, country, ship, etc:
Most buildings had a flagpole with the national colours flying. * sailing under the French colours
IDIOMS
off colour [notbeforenoun] (BrE, informal)
1 not in good health; looking or feeling ill:
Jo seems a little off colour today.
2 [usuallybeforenoun] (especially AmE) an off-colour joke is one that people think is rude, usually because it is about sex
see the colour of sb's money (especially spoken) to make sure that sb has enough money to pay for sth:
You need to see the colour of his money before you sell him the car.
moreatNAILv., TRUEadj., FLYINGadj.
